Basket of Flowers

In September 1848 Delacroix fled the social and political unrest in Paris that followed the downfall of King Louis-Philippe by retreating to his country house south of the city at Champrosay (now incorporated into Draveil). There he undertook a series of ambitious flower paintings that he intended to exhibit at the Salon of 1849. Because of the possibility of frost as fall proceeded, he worked quickly and produced five canvases. In addition to the present work, these are Basket of Flowers and Fruit (Philadelphia Museum of Art; Johnson no. 501), A Vase of Flowers on a Console (Musée Ingres, Montauban; Johnson no. 503), A Bed of Marguerites and Dahlias (location unknown; Johnson no. L213), and Hydrangeas and Agapanthus by a Pond (location unknown; Johnson no. L214). The Montauban picture was not finished in time for the Salon and the two lost works were withdrawn by the artist, leaving only the New York and Philadelphia paintings, which were joined by Women of Algiers in their Apartment (Musée Fabre, Montpellier; Johnson no. 382), Othello and Desdemona (National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Johnson no. 291) and Syrian Arab with His Horse (private collection; Johnson no. 348).

The flowers in the present work have been identified as follows. At the left are elephant head amaranth, and beneath them are a variety of centaurea (perhaps cornflowers). Falling from the basket are dahlias, rudbeckias, daisies, nasturtiums, and roses. The arch is a tropical white morning glory or moonflower, which appears to be invading a shrub with flowers arranged in dense, flat clusters, possibly elderberry. A number of these species were introduced to Europe from India, Africa, and Central and South America beginning in the sixteenth century. (See Ciret and de Font-Reaulx 2017).

Delacroix’s enthusiasm for the flower paintings is palpable from his frequent marking of their progress in journal entries and letters, as well as his invitations to friends to view them in his studio before the Salon opening on June 15, 1849. On February 6, for example, he wrote to his friend Constant Dutilleux, "You were kind enough to talk to me about the flower paintings I am in the process of finishing. I have . . . subordinated the details to the whole as much as possible . . . I have tried to fashion pieces of nature, such as they present themselves to us in gardens, simply by bringing together, within the same frame and in a highly unlikely manner, the greatest possible variety of flowers" (Correspondance, vol. 2, pp. 372–73; trans. in Pomarède 2001, p. 121). As if to balance his inventiveness with a grounding in nature, on February 14, Delacroix "[h]ad a long conversation with Jussieu after dinner on the subject of flowers in connection with my pictures; I have promised to visit him in the spring. He is going to show me the greenhouses and will arrange for me to have every opportunity to study there." This is a reference to Adrien de Jussieu (1797–1853), head botanist at the Jardin des Plantes, Paris, attesting to the artist’s serious application to this project. Pomarède has, moreover, described the artist’s particular motivation in carrying out these works, an effort to establish himself as a master of subjects in every genre, and "to revitalize the genre by means of a kind of realism in which stylistic convention and decoration could serve the contemplation of nature—and not the reverse" (Pomarède 2001, p. 130).

Although they were well received by critics, Delacroix never sold the flower paintings, for which he reportedly was asking 1,200 francs apiece in 1849 (Piron 1865, p. 109). He showed this work at the Salon des amis des arts de Bordeaux in 1854 (see Johnson 1986); in his triumphant retrospective at the Exposition Universelle of 1855 (installation photograph published in Trapp 1970, fig. 205); and at an exhibition organized by the dealer Francis Petit at the Galerie du Cercle des Beaux-Arts, Paris, in 1862. It was also included in the artist’s memorial exhibition held at Paris 1864. At the artist’s posthumous sale, a Monsieur Sourigues paid 7,750 francs for this work.

Independent still lifes form a relatively small part of Delacroix’s output. Indeed there is a single significant precedent to Basket of Flowers and its companion works, the curious Still Life with Lobsters of 1826 (Musée du Louvre, Paris). Yet, taking a cue from the grand manner, he often included still lifes in the foregrounds of his figure paintings (for example, the Abduction of Rebecca, The Met 03.30). This sensitivity to tradition was evident to critics at the 1849 Salon: Théophile Gautier claimed that Delacroix had drawn inspiration from the Italian and Spanish tradition, as well as masterpieces by Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer (1634–1699), Jan Davidz. de Heem (1606–1684), and Jan van Huysum (1682–1749). The artist’s aim of mastering and reinvigorating this genre of painting had a direct effect on his aspiring contemporaries. This painting's inclusion in Paris exhibitions between 1849 and 1864 was influential to Courbet and, in turn, Renoir, Monet, and Bazille (see Shackelford 2001, pp. 23–24).

The Met owns a pastel study for the present painting (67.187.4; Robaut no.1073).

Asher Ethan Miller 2018

the artist, Paris (until d. 1863; his estate sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, February 17–18, 1864, no. 88, as "Corbeille de fleurs renversée dans un parc," for Fr 7,250 to Sourigues); M. Sourigues (1864–81; his sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, February 28, 1881, no. 14, as "Corbeilles [sic] de Pavots et de Chrysanthèmes," for Fr 10,300 to Durand-Ruel); [Durand-Ruel, Paris, 1881; stock no. 882, as "Fleurs Corbeille de pavots"; sold on March 5 to Feder]; Jules Feder, Paris (from 1881); Vice-Admiral Auguste Bosse, Paris (in 1885); Erwin Davis, New York (by 1888–at least 1911; on deposit with Durand-Ruel, New York, December 27, 1897–December 30, 1911; deposit no. 5645, as "Flower piece"); Albert Gallatin, New York (by 1936–at least 1938); [Wildenstein, New York, by 1943–56; stock no. 16861; sold to de Groot]; Adelaide Milton de Groot, New York (1956–d. 1967)

Paris. Salon. June 15–?, 1849, no. 504 (as "Fleurs").

Bordeaux. Galerie de la société des amis des arts. "Salon des amis des arts de Bordeaux [5ème exposition]," November 12–?, 1854, no. 157 (as "Fleurs," probably this picture) [see Johnson 1986].

Paris. Palais des Beaux-Arts. "Exposition universelle de 1855," May 15–?, 1855, no. 2941 (as "Fleurs; deux tableaux; même numéro").

Paris. Galerie du Cercle des Beaux-Arts. May–June 1862, no catalogue [see Delacroix 1862 and Hannoosh 2009, vol. 2, p. 1397 n. 31].

Paris. Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. "Œuvres d'Eugène Delacroix," August 13–?, 1864, no. 308 (supplement to 3rd edition) [see Johnson 1986].

Paris. École Nationale des Beaux-Arts. "Exposition Eugène Delacroix au profit de la souscription destinée à élever à Paris un monument à sa mémoire," March 6–April 15, 1885, no. 239bis (as "Corbeille de fleurs renversée dans un parc," lent by M. le Vice-amiral Bosse) [see Johnson 1986].

New York. Century Club. "French Masterpieces of the Nineteenth Century," January 11–February 10, 1936, no. 6 (as "Courbeille [sic] de Fleurs Renversée dans un Parc," lent by Albert Gallatin, Esq.).

Hartford, Conn. Wadsworth Atheneum. "The Painters of Still Life," January 25–February 15, 1938, no. 57 (as "The Basket of Flowers," lent by Albert Gallatin, New York).

New York. M. Knoedler & Co. "Gros, Gericault, Delacroix," November 21–December 10, 1938, no. 48 (as "Basket of Flowers," lent by Albert Gallatin, Esq.).

New York. Wildenstein. "Eugène Delacroix, 1798–1863," October 18–November 18, 1944, no. 28 (as "Basket of Flowers in a Parc [sic]," lent anonymously).

Detroit Institute of Arts. "French Painting from David to Courbet," February 1–March 5, 1950, no. 35 (as "Still Life [Corbeille de fleurs renversées [sic] dans un parc]," lent by Wildenstein and Co., New York).

London. Wildenstein. "Eugène Delacroix, 1798–1863," June–July 1952, no. 31 (as "A Basket of Flowers, Overturned in a Park," lent by Wildenstein & Co., New York).

Hartford, Conn. Wadsworth Atheneum. "The Romantic Circle: French Romantic Painting, Delacroix and his Contemporaries," October 15–November 30, 1952, no. 31 (as "Basket of Flowers Overturned in a Park," lent by Wildenstein & Co., Inc., New York).

New York. Wildenstein. "Magic of Flowers in Painting," April 13–May 15, 1954, no. 12 (as "Basket with Flowers").

New York. Perls Galleries. "Masterpieces from the Collection of Adelaide Milton de Groot," April 14–May 3, 1958, no. 1 (as "Le Panier de Fleurs [Cornucopia]").

New York. Wildenstein. "Birth of Impressionism," March 7–April 6, 1963, no. 37 (as "Basket of Flowers in a Park," lent by Miss Adelaide Milton de Groot).

London. Royal Academy of Arts. "Delacroix," October 1–November 8, 1964, no. 50 (as "Basket of Flowers Overturned in a Park," lent by Miss Adelaide Milton de Groot, New York).

New York. Wildenstein. "Romantics and Realists," April 7–May 7, 1966, no. 47 (as "Basket of Flowers," lent by Miss Adelaide Milton de Groot).

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. "Masterpieces of Painting in The Metropolitan Museum of Art," September 16–November 1, 1970, unnumbered cat. (p. 74).

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Impressionist Epoch," December 12, 1974–February 10, 1975, not in catalogue.

Leningrad [St. Petersburg]. State Hermitage Museum. "100 Paintings from the Metropolitan Museum," May 22–July 27, 1975, no. 56.

Moscow. State Pushkin Museum. "100 Paintings from the Metropolitan Museum," August 28–November 2, 1975, no. 56.

Fort Lauderdale. Museum of Art. "Corot to Cézanne: 19th Century French Paintings from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," December 22, 1992–April 11, 1993, no catalogue.

Paris. Galeries nationales du Grand Palais. "Delacroix: Les dernières années," April 7–July 20, 1998, no. 29.

Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Delacroix: The Late Work," September 15, 1998–January 3, 1999, no. 29.

Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe. "Eugène Delacroix," November 1, 2003–February 1, 2004, no. 154.

Paris. Musée du Louvre. "Delacroix, 1798–1863," March 29–July 23, 2018, no. 126.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Delacroix," September 17, 2018–January 6, 2019, no. 109.

LOAN OF THIS WORK IS RESTRICTED.

Eugène Delacroix. Letter to Jean-Baptiste Pierret. September 29, 1848 [published in A. Joubin, ed. "Correspondance générale d'Eugène Delacroix," Paris, vol. 2, 1936, p. 368], mentions his work on the five flower pictures.

Eugène Delacroix. Letter to Joséphine de Forget. October 3, 1848 [published in A. Joubin, ed., "Correspondance générale d'Eugène Delacroix," Paris, vol. 2, 1936, p. 369], mentions his work on the five flower pictures.

Eugène Delacroix. Letter to Constant Dutilleux. February 6, 1849 [published in A. Joubin, ed., "Correspondance générale d'Eugène Delacroix," Paris, vol. 2, 1936, p. 373], notes his intention to send the flower pictures to the Salon and his desire to echo nature in depicting the greatest possible variety of flowers, as in a garden.

Eugène Delacroix. Journal entry. February 7, 1849 [Bibliothèque de l'Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art, collections Jacques Doucet, Paris, ms. 253 (1); published in Joubin 1932, vol. 1, p. 259; Hannoosh 2009, vol. 1, p. 417], states that he had been "chez Beugn[i]et pour le cadre de mes 'Fleurs'".

Eugène Delacroix. Journal entry. February 14, 1849 [Bibliothèque de l'Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art, collections Jacques Doucet, Paris, ms. 253 (1); published Joubin 1932, vol. 1, p. 262; Hannoosh 2009, vol. 1, p. 420], mentions discussing flowers "à propos de mes tableaux" with Jussieu.

Eugène Delacroix. Journal entry. February 15, 1849 [Bibliothèque de l'Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art, collections Jacques Doucet, Paris, ms. 253 (1); published in Joubin 1932, vol. 1, p. 263; Hannoosh 2009, vol. 1, p. 421], mentions working on "mes tableaux de fleurs".

Eugène Delacroix. Journal entry. February 26, 1849 [Bibliothèque de l'Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art, collections Jacques Doucet, Paris, ms. 253 (1); published in Joubin 1932, vol. 1, p. 266; Hannoosh 2009, vol. 1, p. 423], records that Mme Mennessier [the former Marie-Antoinette-Élisabeth Nodier] and her daughter visited his studio to see his "Fleurs".

Eugène Delacroix. Journal entry. March 1, 1849 [Bibliothèque de l'Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art, collections Jacques Doucet, Paris, ms. 253 (1); published in Joubin 1932, vol. 1, p. 266; Hannoosh 2009, vol. 1, p. 424], records that Mme Mennessier and Mme Bixio visited his studio to see his "Fleurs".

Eugène Delacroix. Journal entry. April 3, 1849 [Bibliothèque de l'Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art, collections Jacques Doucet, Paris, ms. 253 (1); published in Joubin 1932, vol. 1, p. 279; Hannoosh 2009, vol. 1, p. 434], states "j'avais travaillé beaucoup aux 'Fleurs'".

Eugène Delacroix. Letter to Monsieur Souty. May 3, 1849 [published in A. Joubin, ed., "Correspondance générale d'Eugène Delacroix," Paris, vol. 2, 1936, p. 375].

Eugène Delacroix. Journal entry. May 8, 1849 [Bibliothèque de l'Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art, collections Jacques Doucet, Paris, ms. 253 (1); published in Joubin 1932, vol. 1, p. 291; vol. 1, p. 445], states that he had seen George Sand "et elle a désiré venir voir mes 'Fleurs' qui lui ont fait plaisir".

Eugène Delacroix. Journal entry. May 14, 1849 [Bibliothèque de l'Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art, collections Jacques Doucet, Paris, ms. 253 (1); published in Joubin 1932, vol. 1, p. 291; Hannoosh 2009, vol. 1, p. 445], states that Mme Villot, her husband, and Mme Auger visited his studio to see "les tableaux".

Eugène Delacroix. Journal entry. May 15, 1849 [Bibliothèque de l'Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art, collections Jacques Doucet, Paris, ms. 253 (1); published in Joubin 1932, vol. 1, p. 291; Hannoosh 2009, vol. 1, p. 445], states that this is the "Dernier jour de délai pour achever les tableaux. Travaillé jusqu'à près de midi.".

Léon Riesener. Letter to Delacroix. [June 8, 1849] [publ. in Jean Bergeret, "Riesener - Delacroix, une relation à approfondir," "Bulletin de la Société des Amis du musée national Eugène Delacroix," no. 9 (2011), p. 61, letter no. 9; for date of letter see Hannoosh 2012, p. 75 n. 35], describes it as "celui à la guirlande de lianes" (the one with the garland of vines); states that he has seen it with the three other flower paintings installed in the galleries of the as-yet unopened Salon; likes this one and the Philadelphia picture above all and advises Delacroix to consider withdrawing the others.

Eugène Delacroix. Letter to Léon Riesener. June 9, 1849 [published in A. Joubin, ed., "Correspondance générale d'Eugène Delacroix," Paris, vol. 2, 1936, p. 380], discusses it in the Salon.

J. J. Arnoux. L'Ordre (June 16 and July 31, 1849) [see Ref. Tourneux 1886].

L. Cailleux. "Salon de 1849." Le temps (June 28–29, 1849) [see Ref. Johnson 1986].

L[ouis]. Peisse. "Salon de 1849 (4e article)." Le constitutionnel (July 8, 1849), pp. 1–2.

Champfleury. "Salon de 1849." La Silhouette (July 15, 1849) [repr. in J. Troubat, ed., "Oeuvres Posthumes de Champfleury: Salons 1846–1851," Paris, 1894, pp. 165–69].

Louis Desnoyers. "Salon de 1849. Peinture." Le Siècle (July 27, 1849), p. 3.

Théophile Gautier. "Salon de 1849 (Cinquième article)." La presse (August 1, 1849), p. 2.

A. Dauger. "Revue des Beaux-Arts, Expositions des Tuileries." Le Pays (August 4, 1849) [see Ref. Johnson 1986].

Prosper Haussard. "Salon de 1849." Le Nation (August 7, 1849), pp. 1–2.

Daniel Wilson. Letter to Delacroix. August 28, 1849 [Archives des Musées Nationaux, Paris; excerpt published in Hannoosh 2012, pp. 65, 75 n. 38], expresses his admiration for the flower paintings exhibited at the Salon.

E. Thierry. "Salon de 1849." L'Assemblé Nationale (August 29, 1849), p. 3.

Alexandre Dumas. Journal entry. [November 26, 1853] [published in "Mes Mémoires," ed. Pierre Josserand, Paris, vol. 5, ch.CCXXI, p. 42], recounts seeing Delacroix's flower paintings in the artist's studio the night before.

Eugène Delacroix. Letter to Adrien Dauzats. [early November 1854] [published in A. Joubin, ed., "Correspondance Générale d'Eugène Delacroix," Paris, vol. 3, 1937, p. 232 n. 1], mentions that someone has just picked up two pictures from him [identified by Joubin as the "Fleurs" and the "Fruits" for the 1854 Bordeaux exhibition].

Théophile Silvestre. Delacroix. Paris, 1855, pp. 81, 84, refers to four (rather than five) large paintings of flowers and fruit, which he dates 1848.

Maxime du Camp. Les Beaux-Arts à l'Exposition Universelle de 1855. Paris, 1855, p. 112, criticizes Delacroix's compositions.

Visites et Études de S.A.I. le Prince Napoléon au Palais des Beaux-Arts. Paris, 1856, p. 122.

Eugène Delacroix. Letter to Francis Petit. May 2, 1862 [published in A. Joubin, ed. "Correspondance générale d'Eugène Delacroix," Paris, vol. 4, 1938, pp. 315–16], mentions the possibility of exhibiting an ensemble of four large paintings [the flower subjects produced for the Salon of 1849], envisioning that they would be suitable for a collector with sufficient means to purchase them and space to install them; requests that the four paintings be varnished with care, very lightly coated, and with the best possible varnish.

Eugène Delacroix. Letter to Francis Petit. June 23, 1862 [published in A. Joubin, ed. "Correspondance générale d'Eugène Delacroix," Paris, vol. 4, 1938, p. 320], asks for the return of the "four paintings of flowers whose success may have been satisfying, although not quite in the way I would have wished" (see Paris 1862).

Amédée Cantaloube. Eugène Delacroix. Paris, 1864, pp. 39, 98, lists the works exhibited at the 1864 exhibition.

Théophile Silvestre. Eugène Delacroix: Documents nouveaux. 1864, p. 13, refers to four large paintings of fruit and of flowers, calling two a little too somber, and the other two "d'un éclat, d'une suavité, d'une fraicheur et d'une harmonie incomparables".

[Achille Piron]. Eugène Delacroix: sa vie et ses oeuvres. Paris, 1865, p. 109, lists four large paintings of flowers and fruits, dating them 1849; calls this work "Corbeille de Fleurs renversée dans un parc," and gives the purchaser's name and price at the 1864 atelier sale as M. Sourignes, for Fr 7,750; states that Delacroix tried unsuccessfully to sell these four pictures in 1849 for Fr 1,200 each.

Adolphe Moreau. E. Delacroix et son œuvre. Paris, 1873, p. 184 nn. 2 and 3, p. 192 n. 1, p. 314, lists it in the 1849 Salon, but in a note erroneously identifies it with one of two works exhibited under no. 505; confuses the pictures exhibited at the 1855 Exposition Universelle; lists it in Delacroix's posthumous sale of 1864, giving the purchaser's name as Sourigues and the price as Fr 7,750.

Alfred Robaut. L'œuvre complet de Eugène Delacroix. Paris, 1885, p. 284, no. 1072, ill. (print), as "Corbeille de fleurs renversée dans un parc"; dates it 1849.

Maurice Tourneux. Eugène Delacroix devant ses contemporains. Paris, 1886, pp. 86–87, 94, lists it in the 1849 Salon, quoting several critical reviews; lists it in the 1855 Exposition Universelle.

Durand-Ruel. Letter to John G. Johnson. November 18, 1888 [original letter destroyed; partial transcript in Johnson Collection Papers, Philadelphia Museum of Art], writes that Erwin Davis informed him in error that his flower painting was the one that had been engraved (actually the picture later bought by Johnson and now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art) and that he had been unable to verify this since Davis's painting had been sent out to be relined.

Etienne Moreau-Nélaton. Delacroix raconté par lui-même. Paris, 1916, vol. 2, pp. 80–81, 84, fig. 281, claims that Delacroix sent all five flower paintings to the Salon of 1849, and then removed three.

Raymond Escholier. Delacroix: Peintre, Graveur, Écrivain. Vol. 3, Paris, 1929, p. 138.

André Joubin. Journal de Eugène Delacroix. Paris, 1932, vol. 1, pp. 259, 262, 263, 266, 279, 291, 348 n. 1, publishes Delacroix's 1849 journal entries.

Alfred M. Frankfurter. "The Apostles of Romanticism: Gros, Géricault, and Delacroix." Art News 37 (November 26, 1938), p. 20, ill. p. 10.

André Joubin. Correspondance générale d'Eugène Delacroix. Vol. 4, Paris, 1938, p. 315, identifies the four works mentioned in Delacroix 1862 as the flower paintings painted for the Salon of 1849.

Ulrich Christoffel. Eugène Delacroix. Munich, 1951, pp. 129–30, fig. 68.

Masterpieces from the Collection of Adelaide Milton de Groot. Exh. cat., Perls Galleries. New York, 1958, unpaginated, no. 1, dates it 1848.

Lee Johnson. Delacroix. Exh. cat., Royal Academy of Arts. London, 1964, pp. 33–34, no. 50, fig. 22, dates it 1849, and states that it was no. 504 in the Salon of 1849; discusses references made by Delacroix to the five flower paintings in his journal and in a letter.

Daniel Ternois. "Un tableau de fleurs d'Eugène Delacroix: le vase à la console." Revue du Louvre et des musées de France 15, nos. 4–5 (1965), pp. 233, 235–36, discusses its appearance at the Salon of 1849 with other floral still lifes by Delacroix and George Sand's recollections of the artist's first interest in the floral theme.

Lee Johnson. "Eugène Delacroix et les Salons." Revue du Louvre et des musées de France 16, nos. 4 and 5 (1966), pp. 226, 230 n. 27, cites the review of the 1849 Salon by Haussard [see Ref.] that led him to identify this picture as no. 504 and the Philadelphia picture (J501, R1041) as no. 505 in that exhibition.

Frank Anderson Trapp. The Attainment of Delacroix. Baltimore, [1970], fig. 205 (photograph of installation of the Exposition Universelle of 1855).

Luigina Rossi Bortolatto. L'opera pittorica completa di Delacroix. Milan, 1972, p. 118, no. 525, ill., dates it 1848.

T. J. Clark. The Absolute Bourgeois: Artists and Politics in France 1848–1851. Greenwich, Conn., 1973, pp. 131–32, 204 n. 27, claims that Delacroix's original desire to depict the flower paintings in natural settings, with "great local divisions of line and color" did not succeed, and that Delacroix himself was disappointed with the resulting formal compositions.

Anthony M. Clark in The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Notable Acquisitions, 1965–1975. New York, 1975, p. 86, ill., claims that Delacroix originally sent all five of the flower pictures to the 1849 Salon.

David A. Flanary. Champfleury: The Realist Writer as Art Critic. Ann Arbor, Mich., 1978, pp. 52–53, discusses Champfleury's review of the 1849 Salon.

Michel Faré and Fabrice Faré. Peintres de fleurs en France du XVIIe au XIXe siècles. Exh. cat., Musée du Petit Palais, Palais des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris. Paris, 1979, unpaginated, discuss it among the other floral paintings Delacroix presented at the Salon of 1849 as "une corbeille de fleurs renversée dans un parc".

Lee Johnson. The Paintings of Eugène Delacroix: A Critical Catalogue. Vol. 1, Oxford, 1981, p. xxii.

Maurice Sérullaz. Delacroix. Paris, 1981, pp. 118, 191, no. 300, ill. (color and black and white), dates it 1849.

Mahonri Sharp Young. "Letter from the U.S.A., Bag Lady: Part II." Apollo 120 (August 1984), p. 133, fig. 5.

Germain Bazin. Les fleurs vues par les peintres. Lausanne, 1984, pp. 107–9, ill. (color), as "La corbeille de fleurs renversée"; identifies flowers in the picture as asters, narcissus or tuberose, dahlias, and bind hedgerows or morning glory; remarks that dahlias were at their height of popularity at the time Delacroix painted this picture; states that it is one of the canvases in which Delacroix was attempting to rival the Franco-Flemish floral painter Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer (1636–1699) or the French floral painter Jean-Baptiste Blin de Fontenay (1653–1715), but with a modern twist; notes that the landscape recalls his studies at Champrosay.

Lee Johnson. The Paintings of Eugène Delacroix: A Critical Catalogue. Vol. 3, Oxford, 1986, pp. xxiii–xxiv, 261–65, 294, 349, 354, no. 502, dates it 1848–49.

Lee Johnson. The Paintings of Eugène Delacroix: A Critical Catalogue. Vol. 4, Oxford, 1986, pl. 299.

Roger Hurlburt. "Free Spirits." Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale) (December 20, 1992), p. 4D.

Helen Kohen. "Lasting Impressions." Miami Herald (December 20, 1992), p. 6I.

Katharine Baetjer. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born Before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. New York, 1995, p. 412, ill.

Vincent Pomarède in Delacroix: The Late Work. Exh. cat., Philadelphia Museum of Art. Philadelphia, 1998, pp. 127–28, no. 29, ill. (color) [French ed., 1998, pp. 127, 129–30, no. 29, ill. (color)].

Arlette Sérullaz in Delacroix: The Late Work. Exh. cat., Philadelphia Museum of Art. Philadelphia, 1998, p. 19 [French ed., 1998, p. 19].

Stéphane Guégan. Delacroix: L'enfer et l'atelier. Paris, 1998, unpaginated chronology (under 1849), ill. p. 183 (1855 installation photo).

Gilles Néret. Eugène Delacroix, 1798–1863: Le prince des romantiques. Cologne, 1999, p. 87, ill. pp. 88–89 (color), dates it 1848–49.

Anne-Birgitte Fonsmark in Delacroix: The Music of Painting. Ed. Thomas Lederballe. Exh. cat., Ordrupgaard. Copenhagen, 2000, pp. 25–27, 29, 31, fig. 11 (color).

Lisbet Krogslund Bertelsen and Thomas Lederballe in Delacroix: The Music of Painting. Ed. Thomas Lederballe. Exh. cat., Ordrupgaard. Copenhagen, 2000, pp. 146–47.

George T. M. Shackelford in Eliza E. Rathbone and George T. M. Shackelford. Impressionist Still Life. Exh. cat., Phillips Collection, Washington. New York, 2001, p. 23, fig. 16 (color).

Clare A. P. Willsdon. In the Gardens of Impressionism. New York, 2004, pp. 37–39, 280, colorpl. 35.

Ralph Ubl. "Delacroix' Wärmeräume." Räume der Romantik. Ed. Inka Mülder-Bach and Gerhard Neumann. Würzburg, 2007, p. 290, colorpl. 3, reads the still life as a rebus for the English word "forget".

Colta Ives in Une passion pour Delacroix: La collection Karen B. Cohen. Exh. cat., Musée National Eugène Delacroix. Paris, 2009, pp. 30, 161, fig. 8 (color).

Michèle Hannoosh, ed. Eugène Delacroix: Journal. Paris, 2009, vol. 1, pp. 417, 420–21, 423–24, 434, 445, 451 n. 224, p. 804 n. 310, vol. 2, p. 1397 n. 31, p. 1673, publishes Delacroix's 1849 journal entries.

Zachary C. Xintaras. Delacroix: Les fleurs de 1849. Paris, 2011, pp. 30–35, 38–40, 42–43, 49–50, 55–57, reviews the literature on Delacroix's floral paintings made for the Salon of 1849; notes the artist's tendency to group flowers in threes in all of these pictures; compares it to "Corbeille de fleurs près d'un étang" (Basket of Flowers near a Pond) (1849–50, private collection), signed "E.D.".

Stéphane Guégan in Delacroix, Othoniel, Creten: Des fleurs en hiver. Ed. Christophe Leribault. Exh. cat., Musée National Eugène-Delacroix. Paris, 2012, pp. 77, 84–85, 88–89, 92, ill. pp. 76 and 97 (color details), asserts that the flower paintings exhibited at the Salon of 1849 reflect Delacroix's awareness of the political moment and his place in the history of art.

Michèle Hannoosh in Delacroix, Othoniel, Creten: Des fleurs en hiver. Ed. Christophe Leribault. Exh. cat., Musée National Eugène-Delacroix. Paris, 2012, pp. 25–26, 28, 34, 48, 61, 64–66, 75 nn. 35, 36, 39, fig. 32 (color), states that Delacroix's flower paintings embody the confluence of nature and culture, reflecting his aim of marrying the direct experience of nature with his notion of painterly finish.

Christophe Leribault in Delacroix, Othoniel, Creten: Des fleurs en hiver. Ed. Christophe Leribault. Exh. cat., Musée National Eugène-Delacroix. Paris, 2012, p. 16.

Mitchell Merling in Working among Flowers: Floral Still-Life Painting in Nineteenth-Century France. Ed. Heather MacDonald and Mitchell Merling. Exh. cat., Dallas Museum of Art. Dallas, 2014, pp. 21–23, fig. 15 (color), states that this work, together with the others belonging to the same group of 1848–49, "must be considered as a programmatic response to [Simon] Saint-Jean's "Flowers in a Hat" of 1833 (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen) and other examples of Lyonnais still life painting.

Patrick Noon in Delacroix and the Rise of Modern Art. Exh. cat., Minneapolis Institute of Art. London, 2015, pp. 209, 218, 221, 226, states that Fantin-Latour would certainly have known Delacroix's major floral paintings of 1848–49 (such as The Met's) and that Fantin's earliest floral paintings of 1862–63 are indebted to them; notes that both The Met's and the Philadelphia paintings remained unsold despite critical acclaim and that their repeated public display from 1855 on contributed to renewed interest in floral still lifes among "advocates of an art-for-art's-sake philosophy" in the 1860s; states that Bazille would have seen it at Delacroix's 1864 estate sale.

Christopher Riopelle in Delacroix and the Rise of Modern Art. Exh. cat., Minneapolis Institute of Art. London, 2015, p. 232.

Simon Lee. Delacroix. London, 2015, pp. 265–66, fig. 146 (color), as "Basket of Flowers Overturned in a Park".

Sébastien Ciret and Dominique de Font-Réaulx. E-mail to Asher Miller. August 17, 2017, identify the flowers in the painting.

Edwart Vignot. Eugène Delacroix. Paris, 2017, p. 207, ill. pp. 206–7 (color).

Colta Ives. Public Parks, Private Gardens: Paris to Provence. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2018, pp. 130, 132–33, 181, fig. 126 (color), identifies the flowers as daisies, amaranthus, and hollyhocks, in addition to dahlias, rudbeckias, and white morning glories; notes the picture's impact on painters "who were eager to infuse old, overworked themes with new life".

Stéphane Guégan. Delacroix: Peindre contre l'oubli. Paris, 2018, pp. 207–10, fig. 113 (color), notes the erotic language Gautier (1849) used about the flowers.

Sébastien Allard and Côme Fabre in Delacroix. Ed. Sébastien Allard and Côme Fabre. Exh. cat., Musée du Louvre. Paris, 2018, pp. 140, 192, 198, 232, 427, no. 126, ill. pp. 14, 196 (color, overall and detail), as "Corbeille de fleurs renversée dans un jardin"; identify the flowers as asters, geraniums, dahlias, wallflowers, and peonies.

Catherine Adam-Sigas in Delacroix. Ed. Sébastien Allard and Côme Fabre. Exh. cat., Musée du Louvre. Paris, 2018, pp. 394, 396.

Dominique de Font-Réaulx in Delacroix. Ed. Sébastien Allard and Côme Fabre. Exh. cat., Musée du Louvre. Paris, 2018, p. 362, fig. 58 (1855 installation photo), notes the probable influence of Delacroix's floral still lifes exhibited in Paris 1849 and Paris 1862 on Courbet in, for example, his "The Trellis, or Woman with Flowers" (1862, Toledo Museum of Art).

Sébastien Allard and Côme Fabre in Delacroix. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2018, pp. 100, 140–44, ill. (color).

Michèle Hannoosh in Delacroix. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2018, p. 273 n. 29.

Asher Miller in Delacroix. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2018, p. 291, no. 109.

Dominique de Font-Réaulx in Delacroix. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2018, pp. 257, 262, fig. 118 (1855 installation photo).

Andrew Watson. "The Provenance of 'The Death of Sardanapalus': New Insights from Unpublished Correspondence." Burlington Magazine 166 (May 2024), p. 475, fig. 8 (color).

Loan of this work is restricted.